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Acute Sense of Longing

I left my No. 4 and my No. 7 hand planes at my parents’ house last week so they’ll be there when I pick up the workbench build again on Saturday. That means the only bench planes remaining in my apartment workshop (other than a block plane) are a No. 4 1/2 smoother and a No 5 1/2 jack plane. The shop feels positively undermanned.

Once my go-to bench plane, it’s been a long time since I’ve even touched the No. 5 1/2 (having been pretty much entirely replaced by my No. 7). And the No. 4 1/2 has always been exclusively for final smoothing (an excellent luxury if you can swing it).

All of this is a roundabout admission. I had hoped to put together another “Basic Projects” installment this week, but I feel absolutely lost without at least my No. 4. I just couldn’t psych myself up to make anything.